Noted Workspace Expert Andrea Foertsch Set to Keynote NAIOP New Jersey Seminar

NEWARK, N.J., October 6, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Technology, mobile devices, social media, the sharing economy and the impact of millenials are dramatically changing how people get around, work and play—new behaviors that are dictating trends in workspace location, design and usage. These trends will be the subject of discussion at NAIOP New Jersey, the commercial real estate development association’s seminar, “Digital Disruption, the Mobile Tech Wave and CRE: The Sharing Economy and Workspace Revolution,” slated for Wednesday, October 21, 2015, 7:45 a.m., at the Rutgers Business School’s Bove Auditorium in Newark. The event will feature a keynote address by nationally known expert Andrea P. Foertsch.

“The ‘sharing economy’ is a fast-growing, user-driven system that creates marketplaces for goods and services—including commercial real estate—through networks of people connected by the Internet and mobile apps,” said Michael McGuinness, CEO of NAIOP New Jersey. “The sharing economy makes better use of fixed assets by matching people with spare space, including turnkey office, creative and co-working spaces.”

"Innovation, technology and mobility are shaking up what has conventionally made a property successful. It's less about warehousing workers and increasingly about attracting and facilitating ideas."

Andrea P. Foertsch

Following welcoming remarks by Morris Davis of the Rutgers Business School, Foertsch will address the topic, “Honing the Innovative Workspace.” In 2012, she founded Disruptive Space to specifically focus on the workplace of the evolving innovation, creative and shared economy, and continues the work of Melrose Real Estate Strategies, an urban development, adaptive reuse and land planning practice she founded in 1994.

“Both companies work to build bridges between the real estate development and finance communities, and between resident and business communities,” Foertsch said. “We are fascinated by what drives change—in other words, what ‘disrupts’ the existing state. We will be examining the impact technology and mobility are having on the worker, the workplace and the economy.

“Innovation, technology and mobility are shaking up what has conventionally made a property successful,” she said. “It’s less about warehousing workers and increasingly about attracting and facilitating ideas.”

A panel discussion will follow addressing “The Revolution in Workspace Design and Usage.” Gaurav Gupta, an advisory partner with Ernst & Young, will discuss analytics-enabling speed to value capture. Robert Kellner, AIA, of Spiezle Group, who has managed and designed projects totaling more than 25 million square feet over three decades, will focus on designing a connected and sustainable workspace.

Next, Alan Heyman, managing director of SMLR Group, a recognized expert in many phases of social media policies, will discuss cyber security and governance, and risk avoidance. Finally, Phil Kanfer, director of partnerships for WiredScore, which identifies and certifies buildings with the fastest and most reliable Internet connections, will address the topic, “Connectivity Delivers Tenants.”

Registration, networking and breakfast will begin at 7:45 a.m., followed by the program at 8:30 a.m. For more information contact NAIOP New Jersey at (732) 729-9900, or visit www.naiopnj.org.

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